Case A:-
Did some searches on Google yesterday, and found a few Singapore artist websites and blogs follow the way I blog.
They put up client's request and sketching process etc. (maybe these are what artists can blog also.)
Maybe they are eyeing on this url too, since they got another similar url.
Thought I can be more easygoing now, since I have another bigger goal.
Now I may need to stay more alert.
Told my wife about it.
She said they follow your style, maybe because they think yours is good.
Hmmm.... is it? Should I be happy or .....?!
It may be unwise to talk about all these here. These artists (competitors and friends) could be following my blog. (If they didn't follow, they won't see this post; If they follow, I could be right.)But since this is my blog, I should have the freedom to talk about anything. Isn't it? Not those very sensitive issues though. Too many factors to consider. Maybe I can tell you more about this artist ring (like takeover etc) more if I have time and mood, and if you are interested.
Case B:-
About 10 years ago, when I was strolling with my wife along a Pasar Malam just opposite my workplace (where I draw for business). We were looking at the displays on the tables, and we stopped at a table, with black and white caricatures displayed on it. We looked at each other. The first thing appeared in my mind was that how come my drawings appeared here? But I didn't draw these faces before?
We looked at the artist, then we walked off.
My wife said that artist's drawing style looked so much like yours. I agreed.
Perhaps you may think I am over-sensitive or whatever ...... Perhaps you are right.
We take note of that artist's face.
He's now quite a well-known artist in Singapore.
That day, this artist told me, in an event, that he is using some of the caricature postures I used for the guests in events. I won't say no to him. He has the freedom to draw these postures. I have no rights to stop him from doing so. But this justified what I thought earlier on, in a way.
My friends told me that there are artists following what I am doing, just that I used certain styles which they can't copy easily.
Yes, I used G-pens, fountain pen and brushes. I learned to express the lines with brush and pen strokes through comics. I learned the cartoon, expressions, body proportions, cross-hatching styles, rendering (digitally too) methods etc through comics too. From there, I digest and put them in my caricature and portrait drawings. If you do notice, these are seldom seen in caricature drawings especially.
When I first started out as a portrait artist, I gave my company a name - Portrait Workshop.
Many clients thought that I am conducting workshop for the public. In fact, it is a workplace that I explore different methods of drawing style, method, expressions etc. I am excited every time I thought of one new method to approach the drawing in front of me. I will spend hours on it to get it done right, with satisfaction. Before entering this line, I was already exploring on acrylic painting, then airbrush rendering. I drew my own comic strips.
Over the years, the flame dies down. Maybe I have reached the bottleneck. Maybe I have another vision. Have been reading up a lot on another subject recently. Acquiring a new living skill. (It is still not an appropriate time to reveal it here yet.)
But after seeing that the competitors are catching up with me, I have the urge to push myself harder to move further ahead. However, all this while, I still try to make myself to draw something different. If not possible, at least I can work on the execution - finer rendering, strokes and postures etc. Play on the angles, expressions, features. Most importantly - QUALITY! If my customers (including the potential ones) can't tell the difference, either I have failed in expressing them on my artworks, or I have not done enough to tell them on artpiece.
I am definitely not the best here. But I must make sure that I am not the worst, and stay above the water. Always good to have friendly competitions, and I believe that I can perform better in that way. I still remembered that I have sketched in an event with 6 caricaturists. I was so excited, and I performed far better than my previous events.
学如逆水行舟,不进则退。
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